NICS News Term 4

From the Principal’s Desk

The NICS Academic Awards Ceremony will be on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, starting at 5pm. The Academic Awards Ceremony will be held at the school. At this event, we recognise the academic achievements of our students, and we congratulate them on their hard work and dedication to their studies.

Our last day of school is Friday, 8 December, 2023. We wish all students and their families a very happy holiday.

If your child is not returning to NICS in 2024, please phone the office to let us know.

Week 9 Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) Focus

This week’s PBL focus and lesson was “Honesty: Play the game”. Parents and carers can support students at home with conversations on why honesty is important in our lives and in our interactions with others.

NORF’K in NICS

2023 and the transition to the Queensland curriculum has been a positive move for Norf’k language and cultural studies. NICS has been able to adapt the National Curriculum for Aboriginal Studies to suit the Norfolk Island context. This has involved the development of new resources and assessment tasks.

Students are now assessed as with any other subject. Classes have increased from Year 7 to Years 7 and 8. In Years 9 and 10, it is offered as an elective. We hope to keep building into Years 10 and 11 with an ATAR course eventually being offered in Year 12.

When following a curriculum, each term has a learning intention to develop each lesson. This year, in Term 1, Year 7 discovered what was here on Norfolk on arrival and what was not here, and they considered how the Pitcairn Islanders adapted to their new home. They also explored the influences and impacts of the arrival of American whalers and the establishment of the Melanesian Mission on Norfolk Island. In Term 2, students ‘learnt about early life for the community on Pitcairn Island’.

In Term 3, students, ‘explored connections between the history of Norfolk Islanders and how their traditions and customs have evolved from early times’. Students also:

• examined rituals associated with death and dying, and created wreaths;
• learnt the origins of some of Norfolk Island’s public holidays such as Bounty Day and Thanksgiving; learnt about the role of Norfolk Islanders in wars, and learnt how to honour and respect their military contribution;
• engaged with a range of texts connected to celebrations, traditions and customs, in English and Norf’k language, such as recipes, hymns, songs, stories, poems and letters.

The elective subject in Years 9 and 10 for Terms 1 and 2 saw 24% or 11 out of 46 students taking up the opportunity to further their Norf’k studies. They learnt about the historical and personal significance of local places and how Norf’k language is used in community interactions and used this knowledge to create a community language poster

Each of these intentions used a variety of teaching resources and approaches. The Norf’k studies subject will be continuously improved as resources are developed.

We are very grateful to Rhonda Griffiths who continues to lead the development of Norf’k studies at NICS.

Alyson Innis

Acting Principal - Norfolk Island Central School

School Concert – Aladdin – some more photo highlight